Overview

Chatwoot is an open-source customer-support platform that combines a shared inbox, AI assistance, and self-service help centers, with cloud and self-hosted deployment options. It is best suited to teams that need to coordinate support across several channels or adapt the platform through APIs. Its strongest case is breadth and deployment flexibility; its main trade-off is per-agent pricing on cloud plans and a tightly capped free cloud tier.

Chatwoot Inc. was founded in 2016 and is based in San Francisco. The company says more than 15,000 businesses and organizations use the product. Chatwoot Cloud runs on AWS servers in the United States.

Key features

One inbox for customer conversations

The shared inbox brings website chat, email, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, LINE, TikTok, X, SMS, voice, and API conversations together. Private notes, assignments, labels, canned responses, mentions, typing indicators, and activity logs help agents coordinate without exposing internal discussion to customers. This breadth suits teams that otherwise manage separate channel queues, though teams should confirm their must-have channels and workflows before committing.

WhatsApp support includes rich-content messages. The chat widget can be customized for color, language, text, and design, giving teams control over how it fits their site.

AI, automation, and self-service

Captain can answer questions, suggest replies, summarize conversations, and use help-center content. The included credit allowance depends on the plan, and extra Captain AI credits cost $20 per 1,000; teams expecting substantial AI usage should account for that variable cost. The Agent Bot API also supports connecting bots built with Claude, OpenAI, Gemini, LangChain, n8n, custom code, or Dialogflow, which is useful for teams that want to use their own bot stack.

Customizable help-center portals support multilingual content, AI-powered search, and separate destinations for different brands, products, or customer segments. Cloud customers using a custom portal domain receive SSL certificates. The REST API, webhooks, and API channel allow custom integrations and conversation management; conversation, contact, and other data can be exported through the API.

Deployment and security

Teams can use Chatwoot Cloud or host it on their own infrastructure, including AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, DigitalOcean, Docker, Kubernetes, Linux, or Heroku deployment methods. Chatwoot states that it is SOC 2 Type II certified and GDPR compliant, and that data is encrypted at rest and in transit with AES-256 using AWS KMS hardware security modules. Those commitments may suit teams with security requirements, while self-hosting gives operators control over infrastructure at the cost of running it themselves.

Pricing

Chatwoot offers a 15-day trial and a free Hacker plan. Paid cloud plans are billed annually per agent, so the listed monthly price is not the total team cost.

Plan	Price	What it includes
Hacker	Free	Up to 2 agents, 500 conversations per month, and 30-day data retention.
Startups	$19 /agent/month, billed annually	Unlimited conversations subject to fair use, all channels, 300 Captain AI credits, and 1-year data retention.
Business	$39 /agent/month, billed annually	Unlimited conversations subject to fair use, all channels, voice, 500 Captain AI credits, and 2-year data retention.
Enterprise	$99 /agent/month, billed annually	Unlimited conversations subject to fair use, all channels, voice, SSO/SAML, audit logs, 800 Captain AI credits, and 3-year data retention.

Hacker is a practical starting point for a very small team, but the two-agent ceiling, 500 monthly conversations, and 30-day retention make it a poor fit for growing support operations. Startups removes the conversation cap subject to fair use and extends retention, but does not include voice. Business adds voice and longer retention; Enterprise is the fit for teams that need SSO/SAML, audit logs, and the longest retention period.

For self-hosting, Community Edition is free forever and includes community support, but excludes Captain AI, voice calls, and SSO/SAML. Premium Support costs $19 /agent/month, billed annually, and adds Captain AI, voice calls, custom branding, agent capacity, and priority support. Enterprise Edition costs $99 /agent/month, billed annually, and adds SSO/SAML, SLA policies, and priority support alongside Captain AI, voice, custom branding, and agent capacity. Community support runs through Discord and GitHub; Enterprise includes phone support and developer office hours. Cloud plans are refundable based on cancellation date and unused time.

Platforms

Chatwoot supports Android, iOS, Linux, web, API access, and self-hosted deployment. Its API access and self-hosting options make it relevant for teams with existing infrastructure or custom integration needs.

Who it's for

Chatwoot is a strong fit for support, sales, and customer-engagement teams that need multiple channels in one queue, branded self-service portals, or control over deployment. It is less compelling for teams with minimal support volume that need more than two agents on a free plan, or for operators unwilling to manage self-hosted software and its infrastructure.

Pros and cons

Pros

Broad channel coverage: One inbox spans web chat, email, social, messaging, voice, SMS, and API conversations.
Flexible deployment: Teams can choose Chatwoot Cloud or host it on their own infrastructure.
Useful developer hooks: REST APIs, webhooks, and bot integrations support tailored workflows.
Multiple self-service portals: Separate, customizable help centers can serve different brands, products, or customer segments.

Cons

Free cloud limits are restrictive: Hacker allows just two agents and 500 conversations per month, with 30-day retention.
Cloud costs scale with headcount: Paid cloud plans are priced per agent and billed annually.
Key capabilities are tiered: Voice starts with Business, while SSO/SAML and audit logs are reserved for Enterprise; Community Edition excludes Captain AI and voice.
AI has a usage cost: Included credits vary by plan, and additional credits cost $20 per 1,000.

Alternatives

Consider Freshdesk if its free program for one or two agents or its paid Growth plan better fits your team. Zoho Desk is another option, with a free plan for three users and paid Express pricing shown in INR. Help Scout may fit teams that can work within its free allowance of five users, one inbox, one Docs site, and 100 contacts per month.

Vtiger Help Desk offers a free One Pilot account for up to 10 users and 3,000 records. LiveAgent is a paid alternative with a Small business plan that includes ticketing, live chat, a knowledgebase, a customer portal, contact forms, and automation rules. Odoo Helpdesk has a free One App plan and a Custom plan billed annually. Zammad offers free access, while its listed plans distinguish agent, attachment, and storage limits. UVdesk offers an open-source plan with unlimited agents and a Pro plan with a two-agent minimum.

For category comparisons, see Help desk software, Live chat software, WhatsApp Business API Providers, Social Media Customer Service Software, and WhatsApp Customer Service Software.

Verdict

Choose Chatwoot if your team needs a shared workspace for varied customer channels and values API customization or self-hosting. Its free plan offers a low-cost way to start, but the conversation cap and retention limit are real constraints; paid plans bring broader capacity and features at per-agent annual rates. Look elsewhere if your team needs a more generous free tier or wants to avoid per-seat costs and self-hosting responsibilities.

	Chatwoot	Helpshift
Free plan	Yes	No
Free trial	Yes	No
Paid from	$19/mo	—
Open source	Yes	No
Platforms	Android, api, iOS, Linux, self-hosted, Web	api
Free plan	Yes	No
Paid from	Free	—
SLA management	Yes	Yes
Help center	Yes	Yes
API access	Yes	Yes
Included agent seats	2	—
Shared inbox	—	Yes
Ticket automation	—	Yes

Chatwoot vs Helpshift

Chatwoot

Helpshift